Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is a double edged sword: it can alleviate the effects of menopause for a significant proportion of the female population, however for a smaller proportion, it will induce a significant increase in their short-term and lifetime risk to develop breast cancer (BC). Fewer women are prescribed HRT compared to a decade ago due to concerns pertaining to BC by both physicians and patients. By developing a technology that could identify women at risk for the adverse effects of HRT, during the first few months of its use, physicians may offer HRT to a wider proportion of the female population during menopause. More importantly, as it relates to BC prevention, such a technology will identify women at risk and provide a useful decision making tool regarding their care during the menopausal years.

Post-menopausal women attending the Endocrinology Clinic at St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) who have elected to undergo a 1-year HRT regiment but had no prior HRT treatment. The comparison group (control) will comprise of post-menopausal women not on HRT and had no prior HRT treatment. Controls will be recruited among women at the University Health Network or attending the Endocrinology Clinic at St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).

Criteria

Cases

Inclusion Criteria:

Post-menopausal

Attending the Endocrinology clinic at SMH

Will start HRT treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

Current or Past HRT treatment

Prior breast cancer

Benign breast disease

Bilateral breast biopsy

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) within a year

Cosmetic alteration (reduction/augmentation)

Gynecological surgery

Past or current chemo- therapeutic or prevention treatment

Controls

Inclusion Criteria:

Not on HRT treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

Current or Past HRT treatment

Prior breast cancer

Benign breast disease

Bilateral breast biopsy

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) within a year

Cosmetic alteration (reduction/augmentation)

Gynecological surgery

Past or current chemo- therapeutic or prevention treatment

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00797199